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Women's Liberation Radio News

World Talk

Feminist news programming that seeks to provide the unique and under-represented voices of girls and women with a national and international venue to break the sound barrier.

Location:

United States

Description:

Feminist news programming that seeks to provide the unique and under-represented voices of girls and women with a national and international venue to break the sound barrier.

Language:

English


Episodes

Edition 91: Body Image & Feminism

11/2/2023
This November 2023 Edition of the WLRN podcast explores the concept of body image and how it's exploited by patriarchy. Mary O'Neill delivers the world news, updating us on women's situation regarding the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, among other stories. Emily treats us to a conversation she had with Zinetta, a radfem sister from the PNW, on how the concept of body image is introduced to girls and then used to control and subjugate women for the rest of their lives. Resident desert dweller and thinker Sekhmet SheOwl brings us her thoughts at the end of the podcast, and offers the listener some ideas on how to break away from the male-driven attachment of self-worth to body image.

Duration:01:08:19

Edition 90: Fran Luck, Jeannette Cooper, Ann Menasche & Holly Hart on Working with the Right

10/6/2023
Greetings! Thank you for your patience as we grease our wheels here at WLRN Studios! This lil' podcast is arriving to you one day late so the elves at WLRN could make it great! First up, hear Edition 90's greeting from Thistle before diving into the World News segment with Mary O'Neill wherein she reports on JK Rowling's new book, the Taliban, AI-generated pornography, and more. Next, hear Loretta Lynn's song "One's On the Way" before hearing an excerpt of the round table discussion Thistle conducted with Fran Luck, Jeannette Cooper, Ann Menasche, and Holly Hart last weekend. Jeannette is a mother, scholar, and a founding member of Partners for Ethical Care, a nonprofit organization focused on raising awareness and supporting efforts to abolish the affirmation model of “gender identity.” She has testified in legislative hearings across the country supporting bills to protect children from "gender identity affirmation." She resides in Chicago and has been vaccinated against right wing cooties. Holly Hart has been a second-wave feminist and lesbian activist since 1970 when she founded Portland Gay Liberation with two gay men. Holly was the Chair of Oregon's Task Force on Sexual Preference, the first official state entity in the nation to study and make recommendations on how homosexual women and men could be better served by government and non-profit organizations. As an attorney, she represented many gay women and men in child custody disputes with their former heterosexual married partners. In 1980 she opened up Old Wives' Tales Restaurant and Women's Center, providing a place for second-wave feminists to gather, and as the first alternative to lesbian bars in Portland. OWT served the women of Portland in this way for 34 years, until 2014. After retiring from OWT, Holly became active in radical feminist organizations like Sovereign Women Speak, WoLF, and WDI-USA, and is now Oregon Co-Chapter Leader for Gays Against Groomers. Ann Menasche is a civil rights attorney living in San Diego, CA. She is a lesbian feminist who is a founding member of FIST (Feminists in Struggle), a political group for women in the U.S. to organize and strengthen female solidarity. Ann is a member of GASBR, the Green Alliance for Sex-Based Rights and comes from a long tradition of voting and running in the Green Party having become disillusioned with America's two-party system. Fran Luck is the host and producer of Joy of Resistance Radio: Multicultural Feminist Radio @ WBAI in New York. It is the only terrestrial radio program (not a podcast) created and hosted by a radical feminist. Finally, stay tuned for Sekhmet SheOwl's commentary on the subject at the very end of the show! Thanks for tuning in to another WLRN podcast!

Duration:01:07:18

Edition 89: Digest of Michigan Women's Music Festivals with Jenna, Emily, Lou and Thistle

9/7/2023
Welcome to our annual digest of Michigan Women's Music & Arts Festivals! This Summer of 2023 was packed with gynocentric encounters, culture and music! First up, hear long-time WLRN member April Neault greet the listener with her announcement that she is stepping back from her monthly duties with WLRN after this edition and that we are looking for a new volunteer to work our YouTube channel and do some video editing. You'll also hear a special announcement from April about a women's speaking event happening in Ottowa, Ontario Canada on September 9th. For more info about that event, go to womensrightsmatter.ca. Next, Mary O'Neill delivers WLRN's World News segment that includes stories about gender ID laws in Norway and the ongoing crackdown on Iranian feminist activists. Next, enjoy "August Moon" by Nedra Johnson, a long-time Michigan performer and founder of Big Mouth Girl on the Land. After the world news, we take you on a journey to a rainy tent at MFR where Thistle and Emily interview a young detransitioned woman who attended Fest in Michigan for the first time this year. Enjoy the ambient sounds and a visit from a neighbor who walks over to chat about the big puddle of water under her tent after the rain! Also, enjoy Lou's beautiful and moving performance of "If I Wrote You" by Dar Williams during this interview segment. Following the interview, you'll hear Ferron's song "Misty Mountain" right before jumping into Jenna's commentary about her experiences at Fest this year and how women's spirituality and spiritual practices are essential to getting out of the bounds of patriarchy. After Jenna's two cents, the listener is treated to Thistle's commentary interwoven with clips of her performance of two of her original songs on the Land, an ukulele choir rehearsal, and a trip to the marketplace downtown in the women's village that springs up every year on the Land. Thank you so much, dear listeners, for tuning in to our woman-powered monthly show and for spreading it far and wide throughout the Femisphere. Join us next month for a digest of the Women's Declaration International - USA's Convention happening over the weekend of September 16th in San Francisco. Thanks to WLRN member Emily Faye for stepping up to cover this herstoric event. To donate to the cause of feminist-powered community radio, please visit our Wordpress site at wlrnmedia.com and click on the donate button. Or, go to our merch page and buy any number of fabulous WLRN merch items to both donate and display your love of feminist radio on a t-shirt, mug, or sticker! #WomenSpeakOut #LetWomenSpeak #Michigan #MichFest

Duration:01:13:35

Edition 88: Life Beyond Trans with Emily Faye, Thistle & Elizabeth Chesak

8/3/2023
Welcome to the 88th edition of WLRN's monthly handcrafted podcast for this first Thursday of the month in August 2023. Festival season is upon us in full force! Emily and I (Thistle) were just in the woods of Michigan for Big Mouth Girl and WPI and are now getting ready to go back for MFR (Michigan Framily Reunion). Jenna and her wife are en route to the Pines as I write this description to join hundreds of women for another Michigan music festival. O' August! It has been a month for womyn's music, art, culture, and community for over 45 years now since the very first MichFest that Lisa Vogel and friends conjured for us. Having said all that, today's show is not as edited as some of the editors on the team would have liked, but it is still perfect in its own imperfect way, as all of our collectively created shows are. First up, hear Emily greet the listener before diving into Mary O'Neill's world news segment in which she features, among other stories, news on sexual violence in Brazil and the abortion ban in Texas. Aurora linnea contributes a short segment during the world news to pay tribute to the late great singer/songwriter Sinead O'Connor who died on July 26th in London. Be sure to stay tuned for that passionate and moving piece from aurora. Next up, hear Sinead's song "The Emperor's New Clothes" in its entirety before we move into the interview Emily and I did with Elizabeth Chesak, a desisting woman who speaks out about how transgenderism impacted her life. Sekhmet SheOwl delivers our commentary this month at the end of the show that desists on certain radical feminist takes on desisterhood and detransitioning. It is a thoughtful and well-crafted commentary on a subject that has puzzled women since the dawn of patriarchy. How do we deal with internalized misogyny in women who have bought in to male rule at some point in their lives and in one way or another? We grapple with this question frequently at women's festivals during workshops and in conversation. The wonderful thing about festival is that women work it out, whether it is by finding the right neighborhood to hang out in, or by attending a workshop to talk it through. Women are resilient and creative when we come together away from the influence of men. We end the show with Sinead's voice, as the team at WLRN is sorely feeling the loss of our sister songbird who died too soon. Thanks for staying tuned to handcrafted, community-powered feminist radio, WLRN.

Duration:01:04:50

Edition 87: Pride: Past, Present & Future with Women Speak Florida, aurora linnea & Sekhmet SheOwl

7/6/2023
Welcome to Edition 87 wherein WLRN explores the varied experiences and meanings of Pride, a yearly celebration of LGBTQ+ during the month of June. First, hear Sekhmet SheOwl greet listeners before handing the mic to Mary O'Neill who delivers WLRN's world news segment. Next up, hear an excerpt of the song "You Need to Calm Down" by Taylor Swift before hearing Thistle & Emily's discussion with VF and Jade of Women Speak Florida about Pride events and their event called "TERF Pride" coming up in NYC on July 23rd. To learn more about TERF Pride, email womenspeakflorida@gmail.com. After the interview segment with VF and Jade, hear April Nealt's reading of aurora linnea's 2021 piece entitled "Pride: Corporate Patriarchy's Celebration in the Streets" https://wlrnmedia.com/2021/06/18/pride-corporate-patriarchys-celebration-in-the-streets/ before staying tuned 'til the very end for Sekhmet's commentary on the subject. Thank you, as always, dear listeners, for staying tuned to WLRN, YOUR feminist community-powered radio station in the Femisphere.

Duration:01:12:30

WLRN Edition 86: Women and Social Work

6/1/2023
Enjoy this 86th edition of WLRN's monthly podcast as the heat wave hits America this early Summer in June! This month, Jenna features an interview she did with Gwen Hoffman, a woman with 25 years of experience working in the "giving" fields of crisis intervention, CPS investigations, and childcare. She holds degrees in Psychology and American Studies and is currently pursuing a PhD in History. She and Jenna explore the idea of "social work" and how it is much broader than what we traditionally think of when we hear the term. Before the interview, Mary O'Neill delivers the world news segment including a story about the latest Pulitzer Prize winner who is a man claiming to be a woman and a story about British Cycling and their ban on men entering races in the women's division. After the world news, enjoy the entire song "We don't need another hero" by Tina Turner before the interview. Finally, stay tuned 'til the very end for Sekhmet SheOwl's fantastic commentary on the subject of social work, what it is, and why so many women are drawn to the field. Sekhmet ends her commentary with a shout-out to all of the women who do social work because, without them, the world would be in a far worse state than it is. Thanks for tuning in to WLRN, YOUR Feminist Community Powered Radio Station in the Femisphere. To pick out some cool merch and support the station, check out our cool merch line here: https://womensliberationradionews.com/merch/

Duration:00:49:15

Edition 85: Mothers & the Let Women Speak Movement

5/5/2023
Welcome to the 7th-anniversary edition of Women's Liberation Radio News! This month's show focuses on the Let Women Speak Movement in the USA and all that has happened since the Sisters for Sisters conference in Madison last year. First up, hear the greeting and world news segment with our newest member, Ms. Mary O'Neill before enjoying Alix Dobkin's song "If it Wasn't for the Women." Next, join Thistle as she, Jennifer Thomas, and Katyjean reflect on all that has happened in the USA since the kick-off of the Let Women Speak Movement last year in Madison on April 23rd. Jennifer Thomas is a Women's Rights Campaigner and a Free Speech advocate. She founded RevFemRebellion and RevFoxx and is now leading the direct action group, #GetMenOut. Her next move is a #FreeSpeechForWomen event June 16th in Pittsburgh Pa. Jen is also the lead organizer of Protest ACLU this coming August in Washington DC. Katyjean has been politically active for 25 years defending abortion without excuse or apology. She discovered radical feminism after being called a bigot for the first time ever while talking on LinkedIn about the JK Rowling essay. Since then she has been a loudmouth with a "JK Rowling summoned me" sign in numerous actions east of the Mississippi and all over the internet. She is the founder of FemaXX, Co-choreographer of XX Salute, and an amateur stand-up comedienne. Finally, enjoy two guest commentaries this month from Katyjean and Alexandra R. aka Pinwheel Art. Both these women are mothers and have a lot to say about motherhood and the role mothers play in the Let Women Speak Movement. Alexandra R. AKA Pinwheel Art is a Community Artist/Activist as well as a visual artist and mother of soon-to-be five. She earned her BFA in General Fine Arts in 2006 and her MA in Community Art in 2007 from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Alexandra's feminism has always centered on the mother-child dyad and she enjoys exposing other women to how healing childbirth and motherhood can heal society. Alexandra has been organizing Free Speech for Women Events in the southeastern USA for a year now. These events highlight the struggles women face in a society that sees us as second-class citizens, whose voices do not matter. Alexandra is constantly looking to connect more women around the nation so that we might have free speech events in every state. Please reach out for more information or to donate to the cause and receive some Woman-Centered stickers, created by Alexandra, at PinwheelArt@femaxxnews.com Thanks for tuning in to WLRN! We hope you enjoy this podcast and all 85 of them at wlrnmedia.com. To donate to the cause of feminist-powered community radio, please click on the donate button on our website or better yet, grab some WLRN merch here: https://womensliberationradionews.com/merch/

Duration:01:17:12

Edition 84: Feminist Collectives with Bonnie Atwood, Sekhmet SheOwl and Thistle Pettersen

4/6/2023
Happy Spring! We love it when we get to release a show on the full moon as the season changes! First up, hear Jenna DiQuarto greet the listener before aurora linnea reports on events that happened around the world on March 8th, 2023, International Women's Day. Then, stay tuned for the world news from Emily Faye including coverage of drag show legislation, the school shooting in Nashville, and legislation around the medicalization of children. After listening to the song "Safety in Numbers" by Joan Osborne, enjoy a lively discussion of the 1960s and 70s feminist movement, including a definition of and analysis of collectives with Sekhmet SheOwl and Bonnie Atwood. https://www.veteranfeministsofamerica.org/legacy/BONNIE%20ATWOOD.htm Bonnie discusses the Furies! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Furies_Collective Finally, stay tuned for Thistle's commentary on the subject wherein she describes her vision and intention for the WLRN collective and begins the celebration of next month's show that marks 7 years of existence for this little radio station known as WLRN. Thank you to all the sisters, past, present and future, who have helped build our Fempire, but especially to Thistle Pettersen, Sekhmet SheOwl, Jenna DiQuarto, April Neault and Aurora Linnea who have all been part of the collective for two or more years come this May 2023. To complete the program, Jenna DiQuarto talks with listeners about our JK Rowling - WLRN billboard campaign. We are 1/5 of the way there, sisters! Please make your donation today to get this billboard up in time for Mothers' Day! https://www.givesendgo.com/JKRowlingBillboard-WLRN Much Feminist Love to You this Spring! We hope it is sunny days and blue skies for our all of our listeners. To donate to WLRN to support our work, please click here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=ULAE4ZHPARLFE&ssrt=1680789352205

Duration:00:58:06

Edition 83: Women's Self-Defense with Adelaide Meadow, Serendipity Day & Sekhmet SheOwl

3/3/2023
This month, Jenna DiQuarto worked double duty and both interviewed our wonderful guests and produced the show. Thank you for your dedication and work, Jenna! First, hear Jenna delivering the greeting for the show before diving into a short snippet of the interview Liz Miller did with Ann Menasche about her recent dismissal from a job she had for 20 years. Ann was fired for saying women are female which makes women the people in society who need abortion rights. Then, stay tuned for Emily Faye's world news segment that includes a short report from an interview Thistle did with Amanda Stulman of KPSS USA about their recent action in NYC in front of the New York Times Headquarters in Manhattan. Next, we get to the topic at hand of women's self-defense in two interviews Jenna conducted with Adelaide Meadow, https://www.adelaidemeadow.com/, and Serendipity Day, https://msha.ke/inconfidence?fbclid=IwAR1WzsUaE1uVEfJ4zwgX8xT1-QkL9bSc8Weap9RDkotromyGFz3WY9jI5Pk#links. Finally, hear Sekhmet SheOwl's commentary on the subject to round off this 83rd edition of our monthly show. Thank you, as ever, dear WLRN listeners, for staying tuned to the handcrafted monthly podcasts we lovingly co-create from the studios of WLRN. Please visit our new merch page to order your WLRN merch today to support the station! https://womensliberationradionews.com/merch/

Duration:01:21:22

Edition 82: The Dana Rivers Case with joey brite, Amie Ichikawa & Sekhmet SheOwl

2/2/2023
It's been a busy month! Welcome to Edition 82 wherein the WLRN Collective, along with Amie Ichikawa, joey brite, Thistle Pettersen, and Sekhmet SheOwl, explores the story and implications of the ongoing "Dana Rivers" #DanaRiversisaMan Case in California. It is a gruesome subject that is paired with aurora linnea's chilling written piece about the murders committed by trans-identified individuals over the years https://wlrnmedia.com/2023/02/02/femicide-unmentionable-crimes/. In addition, see Ms. brite's piece linked here: https://www.thedistancemag.com/p/why-the-dana-rivers-case-should-wake. On a more cheerful note, WLRN is starting a new merch line featuring the beautiful artwork and design of Margaret Vaek. Margaret greets the listener in this February's show describing the WLRN logo she lovingly designed. To see our new merch line, click here: https://wlrnmedia.com/merch/ Of note, Margaret also designed the front cover for this month's podcast. It represents Charlotte Reed, Patricia Wright and Benny Diambu-Wright, along with the colors of the suffragist flag (USA), as the fight for women's rights continues. In this month's edition, Emily Faye delivers WLRN's world news segment updating the listener on April Morrow's case involving a man who crushed her hand at a Women's Speak Out event last Fall, amongst other stories. After the world news, hear the song 'Women's Prison' by Loretta Lynn before jumping into a conversation Thistle had with Amie Ichikawa and joey brite about the David Warfield case. This excerpt is from the livestreamed conversation that happened last month with a live interactive audience. Click the "Live" tab on our YouTube channel to find the entire unedited livestream recording in our archive. Finally, Sekhmet SheOwl rounds off the hour with her punchy commentary on the subject in her usual to-the-point fashion that hits the nail on the proverbial head of patriarchy. Thank you, Sekhmet, for your years of service to our collective and for broaching this gruesome topic with precision. The logic you present is crystal clear. and your anger is wielded like a knife. This brings us to the subject of March's show which will focus on women's self-defense. As always, thank you, dear listeners, for supporting feminist community-powered media, WLRN. Let's make it through 2023 together in our worldwide women's network and community. In solidarity! Again, that new merch page is accessible here: https://wlrnmedia.com/merch/ We hope you enjoy browsing our new store!

Duration:01:02:30

Ed81 2022 in Review with Ann Menasche & Sekhmet SheOwl

1/5/2023
Happy New Year 2023 Sisters! Our end-of-the-year edition is packed with news and analysis looking back on 2022 and forward into 2023. First up, hear Sekhmet SheOwl greet you with a wonderful version of auld lang syne by Ingrid Michaelson. Then, stay tuned for WLRN's world news segment with Emily Faye. Next, hear Thistle interview Ann Menasche of FIST (Feminists in Struggle) and GASBR (Green Alliance for Sex Based Rights) about her take on the top stories and events of 2022 and what feminists should be looking toward in the new year. Finally, we round off our show with Sekhmet SheOwl's totally excellent radical feminist commentary on her perspective of how the feminist movement did in 2022 and what we should focus on moving forward. As ever, dear listeners, thank you for tuning in to WLRN, your community-powered radio station in the Femisphere! Donate to WLRN here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=ULAE4ZHPARLFE Cover Art byAlexis Lavine.

Duration:01:02:45

Edition 80: Digest of Standing for Women USA Tour

12/1/2022
Welcome to our final podcast of 2022 wherein we discuss and reflect on the Kellie-Jay Keen USA Standing for Women Speakers' Corner Tour that took place in cities across the United States from October 16 - November 14. In this show, you will find gems of wisdom and advice for how to organize your own Speakers' Corner / Let Women Speak events in your community. First up, hear the greeting from our newest member, Emily Faye, who is taking over our world news department. Emily then delivers the world news segment before the listener hears "My Fight Song" by Rachel Platten. Next, dive into the half-hour segment Thistle edited of her live interview with Amanda Stulman, Executive Director in the USA of Keep Prisons Single Sex, a UK-based organization, and K. Yang, "the Deprogrammer" whose popular YouTube channel is here: https://www.youtube.com/@TheDeprogrammer. To view the full live interview, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwHV68bj8mU&t=118s Ms. Stulman and K. Yang were the police liaisons for the NYC tour stop in front of City Hall. They discuss their strategies and tactics for dealing both with the police and with violent counter-protesters. There were nine arrests at the NYC event. After enjoying the song "I did something bad" by Taylor Swift, you'll hear April Morrow of Sovereign Women Speak, tell her story of being physically attacked at the Tacoma, Washington tour stop by 27-year-old Elijah Lane. To donate to April's cause, go to https://sovereignwomenspeak.com/ and click on the donate button. She needs help with daily living costs, a possible lawsuit, and building her organization after the attacks. Finally, hear Thistle's commentary about her experiences in Chicago at the tour stop in front of the Wrigley Building and her overall evaluation of the tour. To view the footage J. Thomas took of the man with brass knuckles she refers to in her commentary, click on this link: https://twitter.com/RevFemStBeat/status/1587139439456919552?s=20&t=9T-lnEIl7pWn5Z2yucVHPg To buy Thistle's album, Spinning & Weaving, click here: https://www.thistlepettersen.com/ The featured photo for this month's show is a collage of pics taken at the Chicago event. The red rose petals in the shape of a venus symbol were placed on the pavement by Erika Bandodkar and her friend who wishes to remain anonymous. Enjoy the show and please consider becoming a monthly donor of $5 or more to support this grassroots media work we do here at WLRN. Click here to show your support: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=ULAE4ZHPARLFE

Duration:01:15:28

Edition 79: The Male Sex Right with aurora linnea, Sheila Jeffreys and Sekhmet SheOwl

11/3/2022
Welcome to our 79th edition podcast focused on the male sex right with anchor and interviewer, aurora linnea, lesbian feminist extraordinaire, Sheila Jeffreys, and commentary from Sekhmet SheOwl. This month's World News Segment was written and delivered by Emiliann Lorenzen for the last time. As Emily moves on to new projects in her life, we wish her well and thank her for her years of service to WLRN. We will miss you, sister! The music featured in this month's show comes to us from Martha Wainwright with her song Four Black Sheep. The oil painting for our cover comes from Canadian artist Jane Paul and was selected by WLRN member April Neault. Thanks, as always, dear listener, for tuning in to your community- powered radio station in the Femisphere, WLRN. Please listen, like and share widely as we depend on YOU to get this fabulous feminist content out there. Also, if you'd like to support the work we do, please consider a donation to the cause by clicking here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=ULAE4ZHPARLFE.

Duration:00:51:04

Edition 78: Jo Bartosch Discusses the Mermaids Tribunal

10/6/2022
Edition 78 begins with a greeting from resident lesbian feminist, Sekhmet SheOwl, who presents Liz Miller's regular monthly "Getting Organized" segment before WLRN's Aurora Linnea files a report on the recent WDI USA conference that took place in Washington DC over the weekend of September 24th. Next, stay tuned for WLRN's world news segment written and delivered by Emiliann Lorenzen before enjoying the traditional song "Bella Ciao" performed by two anonymous Iranian women. During this segment, you will be invited to send a 7-second audio or video clip to stelladoves@outlook.com stating that you stand with the women of Iran. Stella is putting together a historic women-only video with voices from women around the world expressing our solidarity with the women of Iran. Please get your 7- second clip to Stella by October 7th! Then, hear Thistle discuss the Mermaids Tribunal with Jo Bartosch, a feminist independent journalist from the UK, before Sekhmet circles back to give her commentary on the Mermaids Tribunal and the LGB Alliance and what it all means for homosexual and bisexual men and women and for lesbians in particular. As always, thanks for tuning in to WLRN, dear listener. If you've got some cash to spare, we would greatly appreciate a donation to help keep us working together as a team of dedicated volunteer journalists and media activists. Just click on this link https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=ULAE4ZHPARLFE and give us any amount you can afford. Thank you! Until next time, stay strong in the struggle!

Duration:00:58:29

Edition 77: Women's Festivals in Michigan 2022

9/2/2022
Edition 77: A Digest of Michigan Women's Music and Arts Festivals 2022. Both Thistle and Jenna got to gather with women in the woods of Michigan this Summer 2022. Both give their reports from a variety of women's lands and festivals in the great State of Michigan. Hear Emiliann Lorenzen's world news headlines after Liz Miller's segment "Getting Organized" wherein she interviews Dawn Smith, founder and organizer of Michigan Framily Reunion (MFR). Then, stay tuned for Thistle's interviews with Jori Costello and Emily Faye, two women artists and musicians on women's lands and at women's gatherings this Summer in Michigan. Jori Costello is a member of the band Big Bad Gina and instructor at WWTLC.org's festival called Women's Performance Initiative or WIPI Band Camp. Thistle met her on the Land where the original MichFest took place and they talked about WIPI and the mythos of Michigan in general as the rain pitter patters in the background, deep in the woods. Emily Faye is a cross country traveler spreading love and cheer with her unique yoni art and booth she sets up on Women's lands. You might know her by the tick tick tocking of her old fashioned type writer where she furiously writes secret pages of unknown content. You can find her on the interwebs here: www.radicallybedazzled.com. Finally, stay tuned for Thistle's commentary about the two Michigan gatherings she got to go to this Summer, one by bike! Her rendition of the classic Grateful Dead song "Brokedown Palace" is woven in with her words describing highlights and moments on the Land. Enjoy and thanks, as always, dear listeners, for staying tuned to WLRN. To donate to the cause of feminist community powered radio WLRN, click here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=ULAE4ZHPARLFE

Duration:01:05:46

WLRN Edition 76: Surrogacy

8/4/2022
This month we talk about surrogacy from a radical feminist perspective. WLRN's Aurora speaks with Jennifer Lahl, founder and president of the Center for Bioethics & Culture Network and co-founder of the international group Stop Surrogacy Now, and Dr. Renate Klein, a biologist, sociologist, and feminist health activist who has been campaigning against surrogacy and other reproductive technologies since the early 1980s. Sekhmet closes out our show keeping it real about the psychology of the surrogacy market, and which demographic is driving the surrogacy industry (hint: it's not gay men). Thanks as always for tuning in to you grassroots, community radio station. Join us next month on September 1st as Thistle and Jenna take their annual excursion into the Michigan woods.

Duration:01:01:46

Edition 75: A Discussion of Feminist Leadership with Amy Sousa, Katyjean & Jesika Gonzalez

7/7/2022
July 2022's podcast spotlights feminist leadership among grassroots activist women in our movement for women's liberation. First up, you will hear Thistle's greeting before Jennifer Bilek, of the 11th Hour Blog, delivers her final special report on the gender industry. WLRN would like to thank Jennifer Bilek for contributing her monthly report for the last year and a half to our airwaves. We wish you well, Jen, and appreciate all that you do to wake up the public to the dangers of the gender industry. Next, Emiliann Lorenzen delivers WLRN's world news segment before you hear 'Tis of Thee, a song by Ani DiFranco. After the song, you will hear an excerpt of a panel discussion Thistle Livestreamed onto WLRN's platforms with Amy Sousa @ KnownHeretic, Katyjean of FemaXX News, and Jesika Gonzalez of the TERF Collective. A portion of that Livestream was carefully edited for the show today to give our listeners the chance to hear this content uninterrupted. These three women inspire and encourage us to step up and step out into the world to show ourselves and others that women count, that our lives matter, and that we can lift each other up by listening to each other's stories and supporting each other's projects. Next, we hear "Help Me", a song by Macy Gray, the R & B singer who understands that women are adult human females and had the courage to say so publicly recently. Finally, stay tuned till the very end for Sekhmet SheOwl's exploration of the topic in her commentary that references second-wave feminism that purported that our movement should be leaderless and non-hierarchical. Thank you, Sekhmet for your continued service to WLRN's think tank! This July 4th season in America was rough. Women lost the right to abortion with the overturning of Roe v. Wade and another gunman shot into a crowd in Illinois leaving 7 dead and dozens wounded. Thank you, as ever dear WLRN listener, for tuning into our airwaves as we all try to make sense of these tumultuous and scary times. If you'd like to help WLRN to expand our reach, please consider becoming a monthly donor by clicking here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=ULAE4ZHPARLFE If five listeners donate just $5/month, WLRN will be able to pay for our new Livestreaming service to bring you more Live content of our boots-on-the-ground grassroots Speakers' Corner and Free Speech for Women events. Thanks for staying tuned to YOUR feminist community radio station online, WLRN.

Duration:01:13:27

WLRN Edition 74: The Indoctrination of Children into Gender Ideology

6/2/2022
This month WLRN trains its eye on the movement to indoctrinate children into gender ideology through the public school system. Our show starts with our monthly report on the gender industry from Jen Bilek over at the 11th Hour blog, followed by Elizabeth Miller's segment, Getting Organized. This month, Elizabeth interviewed Angela Wild about her feminist activist store "Wild Womyn Workshop," her feminist street activism, and her LesbianMeToo and Get The L Out UK projects. You can find Wild Womyn Workshop at wildwomynworkshop.com Aurora Linnea is back with the headline news before we dive into our interviews, Thistle speaks with MaryJo Walters, a mom with children in Madison, WI public schools; Jenna talks with The Deprogrammer (link below) about what is and has been actually happening in schools, with youth, across the country. Sekhmet SheOwl closes out our show with her thoughts on 'gender', and what the liberals and conservatives get both right and wrong on the matter. Your Women's Liberation Radio News broadcast is always a grassroots, volunteer-powered, feminist production created in the spirit of global women's liberation. Thank you as ever for your support!! https://www.youtube.com/thedeprogrammer

Duration:01:16:29

WLRN Coverage of Speakers' Corner, Madison, WI April 23, 2022

5/6/2022
Hear Emiliann Lorenzen report on the Speakers' Corner event held in Madison, WI on April 23rd from this last story in WLRN's world news segment for this month. On April 23rd, an estimated 100 women and trans activists gathered at the top of State Street for an event modeled after the famous Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park, London, where ordinary citizens debate the issues of the day. In contrast to how citizens often behave in London, the trans activists used noise-makers, bull horns, and whistles to attempt to silence the women speaking. Despite this, Jenna DiQuarto and K. Yang took charge of the situation, and WLRN was able to produce high-quality video and audio of the women speaking, even with the distractions and noise all around them. Thistle Pettersen applied for and received a City of Madison permit for the event, but the police did not honor the permit, saying that their higher priority was to "keep the peace" by allowing the trans activists to take up the permitted space in a disruptive manner. In this audio segment dedicated to the Madison Speakers' Corner, you will hear the police speaking with Jenna DiQuarto, K. Yang, and Thistle, as the police explain and we question them about them not honoring the permit. At the beginning of the event, the women decided to get up on the steps in front of the giant TRA banner and begin singing “Woman, adult human female” in a rousing chorus. Upon discovering that the TRAs did not retaliate against this bold move, the women and TRAs began to mix and mingle a bit, as women attempted to have open dialogue and conversation with some of them. View the entire event here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V37Ssq30aIE&t=462s. There were no local or national media present for this historic event since there is a well-documented media blackout in Madison of lesbian and radical feminist views, news, and commentary. Hear excerpts of the speeches in this segment produced and narrated by Jenna DiQuarto after enjoying a rousing chorus of "If it wasn't for the Women" by Alix Dobkin.

Duration:00:24:18

Edition 73: Digest of Madison Events

5/5/2022
Happy Six Year Anniversary to WLRN! We are thrilled that we have made it this far, attaining our goal of co-creating a handcrafted feminist podcast every month, for SIX YEARS! In this 73rd episode, we focus our attention on the weekend of feminist events that happened in Madison, WI April 22 - 24, 2022 called Courage Calls to Courage and Sisters4Sisters. First up, enjoy the WLRN greeting with Thistle before hearing Jennifer Bilek's monthly special report on the Gender Industry. After that, stay tuned for Elizabeth Miller's "Getting Organized" segment in which she speaks with TERF Collective founder, Jesika Gonzalez. Next, hear the WLRN world news segment with Emiliann Lorenzen before enjoying the main content of the show which features key clips from speakers and feminists attending Madison events. Finally, stay tuned til the very end for Sekhmet SheOwl's commentary on what Madison Events looked like from afar and how they impact and reverberate in our movement, beyond just Madison. Thank you for staying tuned to feminist community-powered radio, WLRN.

Duration:01:34:10